The Stairwell
by thestairwell
Summary: Once upon a time, two boys met on a stairwell, and their love story started with a Katy Perry serenade.


**In case you were wondering about my pen name... ;)**

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><p>He wasn't <em>spying<em>, really, Kurt assured himself as he pulled into Dalton Academy for Boys' visitors' car park. He was just scoping out the talent of the competition. The New Directions done the same thing last year with Vocal Adrenaline, the halfway house and the deaf school, albeit in a slightly more formal, less underhand way.

But he absolutely wasn't spying. Because 'spying' implied coming to steal the Warblers' set list, or otherwise gain an unfair advantage for Sectionals. Kurt just wanted to see how good the group was.

And perhaps there might even be a part of him that couldn't shake that this was an all boys' school. And with so many boys, it was statistically impossible for them all to be straight.

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><p>He wasn't spying, per se, but still Kurt felt that his being here, ulterior motive aside, was at best morally ambiguous. His heart thumped uncomfortably somewhere near his throat as he strode across the empty entrance hall. (He couldn't believe there was actually an <em>entrance hall<em>!) Dalton had a uniform so Kurt had struggled to find as close an approximation as he could from his admittedly extensive wardrobe. Still, it was a clear sign that he wasn't a student.

Hopefully, if he acted like he was supposed to be there, everyone would just assume he was.

Five minutes later, Kurt realised he was walking around in two-floored circles. Or perhaps he wasn't. Either way, he was utterly lost, and it didn't help that the only differences between corridors were the wall decor and the fact that some had stairs attached to them, and the only signs were plaques under paintings.

Kurt exhaled sharply, frustrated, and then checked his watch. He only had another twenty or so minutes before he had to head back to school for English.

It was another five minutes before the bell rang, startling Kurt, and the hall was immediately filled with uniformed boys. They all headed in the same direction, a buzz of excitement in the air, and Kurt wondered why because it was two hours too early for lunch. But perhaps everyone here just enjoyed their lessons.

Reminding himself that he was just scoping, and definitely not spying, Kurt followed the crowd, hoping his black jacket didn't stand out too much from the surrounding blazers, cardigans and vests.

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><p><em>You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream...<em>

Blaine mentally repeated the words in his head, as he had been doing all through Chemistry. He wasn't nervous - he had never, as far as he could remember, been nervous about performing - but the Warblers didn't give that many performances, so Teenage Dream had to be perfect. So Blaine had to be perfect.

Okay, he was a little nervous.

Even though he could sing Teenage Dream backwards in his sleep, Blaine kept whizzing through the lyrics over and over, until he was suddenly jerked out of his Katy Perry-world by a soft, high voice.

"Oh, excuse me."

Blaine turned, looked up, and saw a boy.

He immediately felt foolish. Of _course_ he would see a boy - he was at an all-boys' school! To see a girl would have been strange and highly suspect.

As Blaine took in the boy's face, he felt it a little difficult to remember how not to stare. Light eyes that could have been blue or grey or green. Soft brown hair, perfectly styled away from his face. Clear skin paler than any Blaine had seen before. The defined lines of his features - cheekbones, brow, jaw, lips. The whole effect was almost magical, and Blaine swore that time stopped just so he could absorb his face.

"Um, hi. Can I ask you a question? I'm new here." The boy gave a small, abashed smile. Blaine looked away quickly to the rest of the boy (taller than Blaine, even had he not been standing two steps higher, wearing black clothes and a red tie to try and match everyone else), pulled his strap higher onto his shoulder and held out a hand.

"My name's Blaine."

"Kurt," the boy replied. He was slow to shake Blaine's hand as well, though his grip was firm and his hands almost unbelievably soft. "So what exactly is going on?"

"The Warblers!" Blaine exclaimed with a small laugh. He remembered his own confusion and excitement when he'd first joined the school. He had been amazed at the a cappella group's popularity - not even the jocks at his old school had had such influence. Now, he looked in the direction of the senior commons, the eagerness of the other boys and his own memories fill him with pride. "Every now and then they throw an impromptu performance in the senior commons. It tends to shut the school down for a while," he couldn't help adding.

"So, wait," Kurt said slowly, "the glee club here is kind of cool?"

"The Warblers are like... rock stars." Perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration.

One of Kurt's eyebrow's immediately rose and his mouth opened slightly, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Blaine wondered what his school was like.

Well, he would show Kurt that there were kids who cared.

"Come on," he said, letting his eyes smile as he reached out and held Kurt's hand again. "I know a short cut."

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><p>It wasn't a short cut; it was really more of a detour. But Blaine wanted to give Kurt time to process the whole 'rock star glee club' thing.<p>

So he guided the taller boy in the opposite direction to everyone else. He had to get to the senior commons fairly quickly otherwise he'd miss his cue, so he pulled Kurt along at a sort of run. When he glanced back, he smiled at Kurt's face, looking in awe at the rooms they passed through as he clutched Blaine's hand.

Blaine was almost sad to let go. It was nice to hold hands with Kurt. But he had to open the double doors to the senior commons. As he pressed open the doors, Blaine glanced again at Kurt and grinned when he saw the boy holding his breath in anticipation.

Inside, Blaine saw the Warblers gathering on the other side of the room in their blazers (they always wore blazers to perform - it made them look more professional) as other students Blaine vaguely recognised cleared a space in the middle of the room.

Blaine looked back at Kurt, smiling at the other boy's slightly breathless expression as he looked around.

"Oo, I stick out like a sore thumb."

"Well next time don't forget your jacket, new kid." He reached out to straighten the lapels of Kurt's coat. The taller boy looked surprised again and Blaine realised that maybe he wasn't used to such easy (and admittedly perhaps superfluous) physical contact. "You'll fit right in." He clapped Kurt's shoulder and, when Kurt just smiled this time, let out a short laugh.

Then he realised that the Warblers had already started the background humming and handed his satchel to a nearby student.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," he said to Kurt. He saw his smile shrink a bit from confusion (though his eyes remained just as light) before turning around to join his group.

_You think I'm pretty without any make up on..._

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><p>Blaine wanted very much to impress this beautiful boy, liar though he was about being a new student. Of course, he had no idea why Kurt was trying to infiltrate Dalton. Anyone wishing harm would have done it at night or between lessons. Perhaps Kurt was actually from a rival show choir come to spy - his voice, wonderful speaking, would undoubtedly sound even greater singing. But perhaps Kurt was actually just a prospective new student, wanting to see what Dalton was really like, not the grand tour when the actual students would definitely be on their best behaviour. Maybe to see if Dalton's zero-violence policy really worked, because it sure as hell never did in public schools.<p>

Whatever his reason, Blaine really wanted to impress Kurt. And luckily for him, the Warblers' simple sidestepping made it very easy for Blaine to watch him. To watch his reactions, watch the amazement and borderline disbelief as he saw the other boys moving and mouthing along, watch as he relaxed into the music and began to bob his head, watch the wide smile never left his face as Blaine kept up eye contact, watch his smile become bashful when Blaine flirtatiously caught his eye after _set your heart racing in my skin tight jeans_.

The song finished - as always, far too soon - and the students descended, swooping around the Warblers while they all congratulated and complimented each other. Thad said Blaine was even more into this song than during rehearsal - but then, if Blaine gave a hundred percent rehearsing, he gave a hundred and fifty in front of an audience.

After a few more seconds of 'well done's to as many Warblers as he could, he turned back around to Kurt. There were a couple of tall boys in the way so he pushed past them - receiving pats on the back as he did - and then... Kurt. A smile stretched across his face. His eyes wide and sparkling. His brows high. He clapped quickly and enthusiastically, hands level with his shoulders. He looked so completely in awe - of the performance, of the reception, Blaine couldn't tell - and Blaine felt his grin shift into a sincere, warm smile. He felt his stomach quiver and his heart swell because _something_ he had done had made this boy, who wasn't used to being casually touched, who had been so controlled in the first few moments of their meeting, smile so open and free.


End file.
